1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an opening-and-closing control device for controlling opening and closing of a window of a vehicle and the like.
2. Description of Related Art
An opening-and-closing control device of a window of a vehicle (hereinafter, called “power window device”) is a device that moves up and down a windowpane by normally or reversely rotating a motor in response to switch operation in order to open and close a window. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a power window device. 1 is an operation switch for operating opening and closing of a window; 2 is a motor drive circuit for driving a motor 3; 4 is a rotary encoder for outputting pulses in synchronization with rotation of the motor 3; 5 is a pulse detection circuit for detecting the pulses outputted from the rotary encoder 4; 6 is a control section including CPU for controlling opening and closing operation of the window; 7 is a memory including ROM, RAM or the like; and 8 is a clock for measuring time. While the clock 8 is shown here for convenience of later reference of FIG. 1 as an embodiment of the invention, the clock 8 is not essential in a device in the related art.
When the operation switch 1 is operated, a window opening-and-closing instruction is provided to the control section 6, and then the motor 3 is normally or reversely rotated by the motor drive circuit 2. Rotation of the motor 3 actuates a window opening-and-closing mechanism interlocked with the motor 3 for opening and closing of the window. The pulse detection circuit 5 detects the pulses outputted from the rotary encoder 4, and the control section 6 calculates a level of opening-and-closing of the window and motor speed based on detection results to control rotation of the motor 3 via the motor drive circuit 2.
FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of the operation switch 1. The operation switch 1 includes an operation knob 11 that is rotatable in an a/b direction with a shaft Q as a center; a rod 12 provided integrally with the operation knob 11; and a known slide switch 13. 14 is an actuator for the slide switch 13; and 20 is a cover of a switch unit that incorporates the operation switch 1. A lower end of the rod 12 is engaged with the actuator 14 for the slide switch 13, and when the operation knob 11 is rotated in the a/b direction, the actuator 14 is moved in a c/d direction via the rod 12, and a contact (omitted to be shown) of the slide switch 13 is switched according to a moving position of the actuator.
The operation knob 11 is switchable to each of positions of automatic closing AC, manual closing MC, neutral N, manual opening MO, and automatic opening AO. FIG. 2 shows a condition where the operation knob 11 is situated in the position of the neutral N. When the operation knob 11 is rotated a certain amount in the a-direction from the position of the neutral to the position of the manual closing MC, manual closing operation where window is closed in manual operation is performed, and when the operation knob 11 is further rotated in the a-direction from the position of the manual closing to the position of the automatic closing AC, automatic closing operation where window is closed in automatic operation is performed. Moreover, when the operation knob 11 is rotated a certain amount in the b-direction from the position of the neutral N to the position of the manual opening MO, manual opening operation where window is opened in manual operation is performed, and when the operation knob 11 is further rotated in the b-direction from the position of the manual opening to the position of the automatic opening AO, automatic opening operation where window is opened in automatic operation is performed. The operation knob 11 is provided with a not-shown spring, and when a hand is released from the operation knob 11 that has been rotated, the operation knob 11 is returned to the position of the neutral N by force of the spring.
In the case of manual operation, operation of closing or opening the window is performed only while the operation knob 11 is held by the hand to the position of the manual closing MC or the manual opening MO, and once the hand is released from the operation knob 11 and the knob is returned to the position of the neutral N, the operation of closing or opening the window is stopped. On the other hand, in the case of automatic operation, once the operation knob 11 is rotated to the position of the automatic closing AC or the automatic opening AO, after that the operation of closing or opening the window is continued even if the hand is released from the operation knob 11 and the knob is returned to the position of the neutral N.
FIG. 3 is a view showing an example of a window opening-and-closing mechanism provided in each window of a vehicle. 100 is a window of a motor vehicle; 101 is a windowpane as an opening-and-closing body for opening and closing the window 100; and 102 is a window opening-and-closing mechanism. The windowpane 101 performs up-and-down moving operation by actuation of the window opening-and-closing mechanism 102, and the window 100 is closed by rising of the windowpane 101, and the window 100 is opened by lowering of the windowpane 101. In the window opening-and-closing mechanism 102; 103 is a support member attached to a lower end of the windowpane 101. 104 is a first arm that is engaged with the support member 103 at one end, and rotatably supported by a bracket 106 at the other end. 105 is a second arm that is engaged with the support member 103 at one end, and engaged with a guide member 107 at the other end. 3 is the motor, and 4 is the rotary encoder. The rotary encoder 4 is connected to a rotation shaft of the motor 3, and outputs a number of pulses proportional to the amount of rotation of the motor 3. By counting the number of pulses outputted from the rotary encoder 4 within a predetermined time period, rotation speed of the motor 3 can be detected. Moreover, a degree of opening of the window 100 can be calculated from output of the rotary encoder 4.
109 is a pinion rotationally driven by the motor 3, and 110 is a fan-like gear rotationally meshed with the pinion 109. The gear 110 is fixed to the first arm 104. The motor 3 is rotatable in normal and reverse directions, and rotates the pinion 109 and the gear 110 by the normal and reverse rotation to turn the first arm 104 in the normal and reverse directions. Following this, the other end of the second arm 105 slides in a lateral direction along a slot in the guide member 107, thereby the support member 103 is moved vertically to raise and lower the windowpane 101, so that the window 100 is opened and closed.
A power window device as above has a function of detecting pinching of an object when the operation knob 11 is situated in the position of the automatic closing AC in FIG. 2 to perform the automatic closing operation. That is, when an object Z is pinched in a space to the windowpane 101 during closing the window 100 as shown in FIG. 4, it is detected in order to stop the closing operation of the window 100, or switch the operation to opening operation. Since the window 100 is automatically closed during automatic closing operation, when a hand or a neck is pinched by mistake, the closing operation needs to be allowed to prevent a human body from danger. Thus, a pinching detection function as described above is provided. In detection of the pinching, the control section 6 reads rotation speed of the motor 3 as output of the pulse detection circuit 5 at any time, compares the current rotation speed to the previous rotation speed, and determines whether pinching occurs based on comparison results. When the pinching of the object Z occurs in the window 100, since load of the motor 3 is increased and thus rotation speed is decreased, variation in speed is increased. Thus, when the variation in speed exceeds a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that the pinching of the object Z has occurred. The threshold value is previously stored in the memory 7.
FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing basic operation of the power window device. When the operation switch 1 is situated in the position of the manual closing MC in step S101, the manual closing operation is performed (step S102); when the operation switch 1 is situated in the position of the automatic closing AC in step S103, the automatic closing operation is performed (step S104); when the operation switch 1 is situated in the position of the manual opening MO in step S105, the manual opening operation is performed (step S106); and when the operation switch 1 is situated in the position of the automatic opening AO in step S107, the automatic opening operation is performed (step S108). Moreover, when the operation switch 1 is not situated in the position of the automatic opening AO in step S107, the operation switch 1 is situated in the position of the neutral N and no operation is performed.
FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a detailed procedure of the manual closing operation in the step S102 of FIG. 15. The procedure is executed by the CPU configuring the control section 6. First, whether the window 100 is fully closed in the manual closing operation is determined based on the output of the rotary encoder 4 (step S111). When the window 100 is fully closed (step S111: YES), the operation is finished, and when it is not fully closed (step S111: NO), a normal rotation signal is outputted from the motor drive circuit 2 to normally rotate the motor 3, so that the window 100 is closed (step S112). Subsequently, whether the window 100 is fully closed is determined (step S113), and when it is fully closed (step S113: YES), the operation is finished, and when it is not fully closed (step S113: NO), whether the operation switch 1 is situated in the position of the manual closing MC is determined (step S114). When the operation switch 1 is situated in the position of the manual closing MC (step S114: YES), the operation is returned to the step S112 to continue normal rotation of the motor 3, and when it is not situated in the position of the manual closing MC (step S114: NO), whether it is situated in the position of the automatic closing AC is determined (step S115). When the operation switch 1 is situated in the position of the automatic closing AC (step S115: YES), the operation is shifted to automatic closing operation described later (FIG. 17) (step S116), and when it is not situated in the position of the automatic closing AC (step S115: NO), whether it is situated in the position of the manual opening MO is determined (step S117). When the operation switch 1 is situated in the position of the manual opening MO (step S117: YES), the operation is shifted to manual opening operation described later (FIG. 18) (step S118), and when it is not situated in the position of the manual opening MO (step S117: NO), whether it is situated in the position of the automatic opening AO is determined (step S 119). When the operation switch 1 is situated in the position of the automatic opening AO (step S119: YES), the operation is shifted to automatic opening operation described later (FIG. 19) (step S120), and when the operation switch 1 is not situated in the position of the automatic opening AO (step S119: NO), the operation is finished without performing any operation.
FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a detailed procedure of the automatic closing operation in the step S104 of FIG. 15. The procedure is executed by the CPU configuring the control section 6. First, whether the window 100 is fully closed in the automatic closing operation is determined based on the output of the rotary encoder 4 (step S121). When the window 100 is fully closed (step S121: YES), the operation is finished, and when it is not fully closed (step S121: NO), a normal rotation signal is outputted from the motor drive circuit 2 to normally rotate the motor 3, so that the window 100 is closed (step S122). Subsequently, whether the window 100 is fully closed is determined (step S123), and when it is fully closed (step S123: YES), the operation is finished, and when it is not fully closed (step S123: NO), whether pinching occurs is determined (step S124).
When the pinching of the object Z as shown in FIG. 4 occurs (step S124: YES), a reverse rotation signal is outputted from the motor drive circuit 2 to reversely rotate the motor 3, so that the window 100 is opened (step S125). Then, whether the window 100 is fully opened is determined (step S126), and when it is fully opened (step S126: YES), the operation is finished, and when it is not fully opened (step S126: NO), the operation is returned to the step S125 to continue reverse rotation of the motor 3. When the pinching is not detected in the step S124 (step S124: NO), whether the operation switch 1 is situated in the position of the manual opening MO is determined (step S127). When the operation switch 1 is situated in the position of the manual opening MO (step S127: YES), the operation is shifted to the manual opening operation described later (FIG. 18) (step S128), and when it is not situated in the position of the manual opening MO (step S127: NO), whether it is situated in the position of the automatic opening AO is determined (step S 129). When the operation switch 1 is situated in the position of the automatic opening AO (step S129: YES), the operation is shifted to the automatic opening operation described later (FIG. 19) (step S130), and when the operation switch 1 is not situated in the position of the automatic opening AO (step S129: NO), the operation is returned to the step S122 to continue the normal operation of the motor 3.
FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a detailed procedure of the manual opening operation in the step S106 of FIG. 15. The procedure is executed by the CPU configuring the control section 6. First, whether the window 100 is fully opened in the manual opening operation is determined based on the output of the rotary encoder 4 (step S131). When the window 100 is fully opened (step S131:YES), the operation is finished, and when it is not fully opened (step S131: NO), the reverse rotation signal is outputted from the motor drive circuit 2 to reversely rotate the motor 3, so that the window 100 is opened (step S132). Subsequently, whether the window 100 is fully opened is determined (step S133), and when it is fully opened (step S133: YES), the operation is finished, and when it is not fully opened (step S133: NO), whether the operation switch 1 is situated in the position of the manual opening MO is determined (step S134). When the operation switch 1 is situated in the position of the manual opening MO (step S134: YES), the operation is returned to the step S132 to continue the reverse rotation of the motor 3, and when it is not situated in the position of the manual opening MO (step S134: NO), whether it is situated in the position of the automatic opening AO is determined (step S135). When the operation switch 1 is situated in the position of the automatic opening AO (step SI 35: YES), the operation is shifted to the automatic opening operation described later (FIG. 19) (step S136), and when it is not situated in the position of the automatic opening AO (step S135: NO), whether it is situated in the position of the manual closing MC is determined (step S137). When the operation switch 1 is situated in the position of the manual closing MC (step S137: YES), the operation is shifted to the manual closing operation described before (FIG. 16) (step S138), and when it is not situated in the position of the manual closing MC (step S137: NO), whether it is situated in the position of the automatic closing AC is determined (step S139). When the operation switch 1 is situated in the position of the automatic closing AC (step S139: YES), the operation is shifted to the automatic closing operation described before (FIG. 17) (step S140), and when it is not situated in the position of the automatic closing AC (step S139: NO), the operation is finished without performing any operation.
FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a detailed procedure of the automatic opening operation in the step S108 of FIG. 15. The procedure is executed by the CPU configuring the control section 6. First, whether the window 100 is fully opened in the automatic opening operation is determined based on the output of the rotary encoder 4 (step S141). When the window 100 is fully opened (step S141: YES), the operation is finished, and when it is not fully opened (step S141: NO), the reverse rotation signal is outputted from the motor drive circuit 2 to reversely rotate the motor 3, so that the window 100 is opened (step S142). Subsequently, whether the window 100 is fully opened is determined (step S143), and when it is fully opened (step S143: YES), the operation is finished, and when it is not fully opened (step S143: NO), whether the operation switch 1 is situated in the manual closing MC is determined (step S144). When the operation switch 1 is situated in the position of the manual closing MC (step S144: YES), the operation is shifted to the manual closing operation described before (FIG. 16) (step S145), and when it is not situated in the position of the manual closing MC (step S144: NO), whether it is situated in the position of the automatic closing AC is determined (step S146). When the operation switch 1 is situated in the position of the automatic closing AC (step S147: YES), the operation is shifted to the automatic closing operation described before (FIG. 17) (step S146), and when the operation switch 1 is not situated in the position of the automatic closing AC (step S146: NO), the operation is returned to the step S142 to continue the reverse rotation of the motor 3.
The above power window device that performs each operation of the automatic closing, manual closing, automatic opening, or manual opening according to switching operation of a switch is described, for example, in patent literature 1 (JP-A-2001-118465) and patent literature 2 (JP-A-8-77861). Moreover, a technique for speed control of the opening-and-closing body is described in patent literatures 3 to 7 (JP-A-5-89771, Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 2,554,559, JP-A-9-60419, JP-A-2002-364251 and JP-A-2002-242533, respectively). The patent literature 3 describes a window regulator control device that can obtain a duty factor in accordance with on-duration of the operation switch, and finely adjust or quickly move the window based on the duty factor. The patent literature 4 describes a power window regulator that first drives the window at low speed for a certain time period, and then drives the window at high speed after the certain time period has passed. The patent literature 5 describes a power window device that determines a level of driving the windowpane from the amount of rotation of the knob, and drives the windowpane according to the determined drive level. The patent literature 6 describes a power window opening-and-closing device that opens and closes the window at an opening-and-closing speed in accordance with pressure applied to a pressure-sensitive switch. The patent literature 7 describes a drive unit of an electromotive slide door, in which when a door handle is operated during automatic opening-and-closing operation of the slide door, opening-and-closing speed of the slide door is increased prior to automatic opening-and-closing operation.
In the power window device having an automatic operation function, as described before, even if the operation knob 11 is operated to be situated in the position of the automatic closing AC or the automatic opening AO, and then the hand is released from the operation knob 11 so that the knob 11 is returned to the position of the neutral N, the closing or opening operation of the window is automatically performed. However, in the device in the related art, when the automatic operation is started and then the window is moved in a direction of opening or closing, a speed of the window is fixed, and the speed has not been able to be increased during automatic operation. While the patent literatures 3 to 7 show the operation of increasing the speed of the opening-and-closing body depending on an operation condition of the switch and the like, any of them shows operation of adjusting speed in manual operation, and is not intended to enable to increase the speed during automatic operation. Moreover, for example, in the device of the patent literature 3, since speed is continuously increased while the operation switch is on during manual operation, and when the hand is released from the operation switch, the opening-and-closing operation is stopped, therefore opening-and-closing speed can not be maintained at a desired speed.